Skip to main content

"The Forty Rules of Love" Elif Shafak - Book Review


Hello Learners,
The Day 2 of quarantine was spend in reading a wonderful by a Turkish writer Elif Shafak “The Forty Rules of Love”. Before you misinterpret it as a love story let me clear the plot and purpose.

“The Forty Rules of Love” has a parallel narrative. Both are interconnected. One tells a contemporary story of Ella whose life is filled with emptiness. She starts reading a manuscript named “Sweet Blasphemy” written by Aziz.Z.Zahara for a literary agency. The other is the story which lies in that manuscript. The story of a Sufi poet Rumi and Shamz of Tabriz, where he shares the forty rules of love and life.  The narration involves the travel of Shams through which he gets to know Rumi and how Shams imparts his knowledge.

The Forty rules embarked the spiritual journey of Rumi and also his companionship with his preacher Shamz. Here the forty rules helps Ella to find purpose of her life and fills life with happiness and meaning. She also finds a friend Aziz.Z.Zahara.

The book also talks about companionship between two people exploring the journey not necessarily of what we assume. Every companionship leads us to a new unexplored journey. Whether it’s companionship with parents, teachers, friends or even any stranger you are meeting for the first time.

The book introduces us to the mystic world of Sufism and how it is interweaves in the contemporary time. In this age of digitization, we read many quotes of Rumi. This book is perfect if you like his quotes. Also those who are fond to read philosophical books will like it.

The best thing I like about this book is that at the end of it has a page of glossary, works cited and a small interview of the writer Elif Shafak. It shows the ethical behavior of the writer and his team.
It is a very quick review of the book which I shall edit later for some detailed analysis.

Worth Reading Book!
Happy Learning!

Comments

  1. Kaushal Desai26 March 2020 at 11:32

    Quite interesting review, indeed. Have heard about this book and surely review of it, took my interest to read it like Rumi on rent is presented here.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"RIP"; Rest in Peace those who are Alive....

Hello Friends, After a long time I am writing here. Hope you all are fine. This time I have come up with a different interpretation of the phrase “RIP”. Mostly this phrase “RIP”; Rest in Peace is used for the people who are no more. We use this phrase to give sympathy towards the departed soul. The soul may get peace wherever it travels. No one exactly knows where the soul travels. Sometimes this phrase is used out of care and sometimes just for show off on social media. While sitting alone near a cemetery, a thought struck in my mind. Why do we use RIP only for dead people????? We can also use it for those who are alive. Many time people use RIP when a person is dead. The same people might have harassed the dead person when he is alive. So what’s the point of “RIP”? Suppose in the day time you behave very badly with someone. Is he/she going to get sound and peaceful sleep at night? The dead person will never come back so we just say “RIP”. Of course ever...
Post a Comment
Read more

“My friend, the things that do attain” - Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey.

Hello friends, I would like to share a poem which I studied during my graduation. The title of the poem is “My friend, the things that do attain”. It is written by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1516/1517 – 19 January 1547), was an English aristocrat, and one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry. MY friend, the things that do attain The happy life be these, I find: The riches left, not got with pain; The fruitful ground; the quiet mind; The equal friend; no grudge; no strife; No charge of rule, nor governance; Without disease, the healthy life; The household of continuance; The mean diet, no dainty fare; Wisdom joined with simpleness; The night discharged of all care, Where wine the wit may not oppress: The faithful wife, without debate; Such sleeps as may beguile the night; Content thyself with thine estate, Neither wish death, nor fear his might. In the above mentioned poem, there is a list ...
3 comments
Read more

" The Winged Word"- David Green

In my Graduation syllabus, I had a book named “ The Winged word”. This anthology is edited by David Green. It is anthology of poems compiled for the students of English literature in the B.A courses of Indian Universities. The chronological order, in which the poets are arranged in this book, helps the students to note the development of English poetry from one age to another. Referring to this book after a long time span, gives me a immense joy. There are many poems in this book. We were given some selected poems to study during three years of graduation. The poems which were in my syllabus are as follow:-    1.)   I Find No Peace – Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-42)    2.) My Friend, the Things That Do Attain –Henry Howard (1517- 47)    3.) The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd –Sir Walter Ralegh (1552-1618)    4.) The Nightingale – Sir Philip Sidney (1554- 86)    5.) Since There’s No Help – Michael...
5 comments
Read more